Answer
Before sending a solar proposal, compare its site, layout, equipment, generation estimate, price and assumptions with the reviewed project records. Confirm the recipient and requested decision, resolve material mismatches, then save the exact version sent. A complete-looking PDF is not evidence that its inputs agree.
A proposal can show the current roof image and an old equipment list at the same time. Before sending it, check that every customer-facing element describes the same project and scenario.
Use this checklist at the final sales review. It is a proposed working method for proposal coordinators, not a substitute for technical design, financial advice or contract review. Adapt the checks to what you are asking the customer to decide.
Run these checks against the actual customer output
Open the PDF or customer link you intend to send beside the reviewed project records. Reviewing the editor alone can miss a stale export.
| Check | Compare with | Hold the send when |
|---|---|---|
| Customer and site | Contact record, project ID, building selection | Recipient or target building is uncertain |
| Layout and equipment | Reviewed layout and equipment revision | Image, model names or quantities disagree |
| Generation estimate | The model run used for this scenario | The proposal uses results from another configuration |
| Price and payment | Current commercial quote and financing terms | Totals, exclusions or payment descriptions conflict |
| Savings and incentives | Dated assumptions and applicable evidence | A scenario is presented as a guaranteed outcome |
| Scope and timing | Reviewed inclusions, exclusions and dependencies | Images or copy imply work outside the offered scope |
| Next step | The decision sales actually needs | The customer cannot tell what to approve or provide |
Record an owner and correction for each failed check. Do not use a checked box to hide an unanswered question.
Match the review to the decision
A preliminary options discussion and a contract offer need different evidence. Label preliminary layouts and unresolved assumptions where the customer will encounter them. If a missing fact could materially change the requested commitment, return the proposal for review rather than relying on a general disclaimer at the end.
For example, a battery shown as an optional scenario should not appear in the base equipment list without explanation. A layout image should identify the option it depicts. Ask the technical or commercial owner to resolve the mismatch; do not silently adjust the sales document to make it look consistent.
Read promises as the customer would
Highlight sentences containing savings, approval, installation dates, payback or eligibility. For each, identify the evidence, conditions and responsible reviewer. A statement may need qualification, correction or removal.
In the United States, the FTC’s advertising guidance says advertising must be truthful and non-deceptive and that advertisers must have evidence to support claims. This is US context, not a legal checklist for every market. Obtain appropriate review of the actual offer and jurisdiction.
Save a send record that can be reconstructed
Keep the proposal identifier, revision, recipient, send date, source revisions and release owner together. Record the intended next step and any condition the customer still needs to resolve.
Illustrative example: a salesperson updates the price after an equipment substitution, but the PDF still shows the previous inverter. Hold the send, ask the relevant owners to reconcile the equipment and commercial records, generate the revised output, and repeat the affected checks. No particular software behavior is assumed here.
If an incorrect version has already been sent, identify its recipient and ask the responsible owner to agree the correction and customer communication. Preserve the history rather than making the earlier version untraceable.
Test your proposal software with a real review question
SurgePV’s proposal product page describes bringing design data into proposals. In an evaluation, ask which fields update after a design change and which need manual review. Inspect the exported document as well as the editor. A vendor description does not establish approval controls or revision history for your account.
Bring a redacted proposal and one recurring mismatch to a guided demo. Ask the presenter to show the relevant transfer from design to customer output.
Frequently asked questions
Who should own the final proposal check?
Name a release owner who can coordinate sales, design and commercial corrections. That person does not automatically have authority to approve every technical or financial assumption. Record which specialist reviewed each decision that requires specialist judgment.
Should an unresolved assumption always stop a proposal?
It depends on the decision the proposal requests. An explicitly preliminary comparison may retain a planning assumption. A material unknown should stop a commitment that depends on it until the responsible reviewer resolves the issue or changes the requested decision.
What should be saved after sending?
Keep the exact customer-facing version, recipient, send date, project and scenario identifiers, source revisions, release owner and agreed next step. This gives a later reviewer a way to reconstruct what the customer received.
Sources
Primary research and reference material used for this desk-research article.
Where this fits
This article is part of SurgePV's Solar Business & Operations hub, which works through the topic from first principles to the decisions a project team actually has to make.
